Lacock is a village and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in the county of
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
, England, about 3 miles (5 km) south of the town of
Chippenham
Chippenham is a market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village ...
, and about outside the
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale.
The area is defined by the bedrock of Jur ...
area. The village is owned almost in its entirety by the
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
and attracts many visitors by virtue of its unspoiled appearance.
The parish includes
Bowden Hill
Bowden Hill is a village in Wiltshire, England, in Lacock parish about south of Chippenham and to the east of Lacock village. Bowden Hill has about 50 houses, a pub, and a small industrial estate.
Origins of the name
Bowden Hill was historica ...
, a small village to the east of Lacock, and the hamlets of
Bewley Common
Bewley Common is a hamlet in Wiltshire, England. It lies in the civil parish of Lacock, west of Bowden Hill and about east of Lacock village.
Bewley Court is a Grade I listed manor house from the 14th century or early 15th. The house was rest ...
, Notton and Reybridge. The Chippenham–
Melksham
Melksham () is a town on the River Avon in Wiltshire, England, about northeast of Trowbridge and south of Chippenham. At the 2011 census, the Melksham built-up area had a population of 19,357, making it Wiltshire's fifth-largest settlement af ...
section of the
A350 primary route crosses the parish from north to south, as does the
River Avon.
A scarecrow festival is held annually in Lacock and is popular with visitors from the local area. All funds raised are donated to Lacock Primary School.
History
Lacock is mentioned in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
, with a population of 160–190; with two mills and a vineyard.
Lacock Abbey
Lacock Abbey in the village of Lacock, Wiltshire, England, was founded in the early 13th century by Ela, Countess of Salisbury, as a nunnery of the Augustinian order. The abbey remained a nunnery until the suppression of Roman Catholic inst ...
was founded on the manorial lands by
Ela, Countess of Salisbury and established in 1232; and the village – with the manor – formed its endowment to "God and St Mary". Lacock was granted a market and developed a thriving woollen industry during the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. Reybridge, and a
packhorse
A packhorse, pack horse, or sumpter refers to a horse, mule, donkey, or pony used to carry goods on its back, usually in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of ...
ford, remained the only crossing points of the
River Avon until the 18th century.
At the
dissolution
Dissolution may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Books
* ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers
* ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music
* Dissolution, in mu ...
, the Abbey and estate, including the village, were sold to
William Sharington
Sir William Sharington (born in around 1495, died before 6 July 1553) was an English courtier of the time of Henry VIII, master and embezzler of the Bristol Mint, member of parliament, conspirator, and High Sheriff of Wiltshire.
Early life
...
, later passing into the Talbot family by marriage.
The Lacock estate was home to photography pioneer
Henry Fox Talbot
William Henry Fox Talbot FRS FRSE FRAS (; 11 February 180017 September 1877) was an English scientist, inventor, and photography pioneer who invented the salted paper and calotype processes, precursors to photographic processes of the later ...
from 1800 to 1877.
In 1916 Henry Fox Talbot's son Charles bequeathed the Lacock estate to his niece, Matilda Gilchrist-Clark, who took the name of Talbot. The estate – comprising , the Abbey and the village – was given to the National Trust in 1944 by Matilda Talbot.
Lacock has three public houses and a number of shops in its High Street including a grocery store, a bakery, gift shops and a National Trust shop.
Notable buildings and structures
Most of the surviving houses in the village are 18th century or earlier in construction. Lacock Abbey, the 14th-century
St Cyriac's Church and a 14th-century
tithe barn
A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithes. Farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the established church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the vi ...
are
Grade I listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. Elsewhere in the parish, the
country houses
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
at
Bewley Court (14th century, restored 1920) and
Bowden Park
Bowden Hill is a village in Wiltshire, England, in Lacock parish about south of Chippenham and to the east of Lacock village. Bowden Hill has about 50 houses, a pub, and a small industrial estate.
Origins of the name
Bowden Hill was historic ...
(1796) are also Grade I listed.
There are four Grade II* listed structures: The Sign of the Angel (late 15th-century house, now an inn); a village cross (late medieval, re-erected outside the school in the late 19th century); a pair of bridges carrying the Bowden Hill road over the Avon (late medieval, 17th and 19th century); and a 16th-century
conduit house, part of the abbey's water supply, opposite Bowden Hill church. Next to the tithe barn is a small
lock-up from the late 18th century.
Lackham House, in the north of the parish overlooking the Avon, was built in 1791–6 for
James Montagu, naval officer. It is a three-storey country house in
Palladian
Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...
style.
Education
A school was provided on a central site in Lacock village by
Henry Fox Talbot
William Henry Fox Talbot FRS FRSE FRAS (; 11 February 180017 September 1877) was an English scientist, inventor, and photography pioneer who invented the salted paper and calotype processes, precursors to photographic processes of the later ...
in 1824, with accommodation for 100 pupils. Another classroom was added in 1852 and around this time it became a
National School; by 1858 there were about 120 pupils. The school was rebuilt on the same site in 1859, again at the expense of the Talbot family, for 220 pupils and 80 infants. Numbers declined in the 20th century; 135 attended in 1955 when the school gained
voluntary controlled
A voluntary controlled school (VC school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a Christian denomination) has some formal influence in the running of the school. Such schools have less autonomy than ...
status. Children of all ages were educated until the early 1960s when older pupils were transferred to Chippenham.
Since 1946 there has been an agricultural college at the Lackham estate, in the north of the parish towards Chippenham. With its farm it is now part of
Wiltshire College
Wiltshire College & University Centre is a tertiary college of education founded in 2002 by the merger of Chippenham Technical College, Lackham College and Trowbridge College. Consolidation was completed with the merger of Salisbury College, whi ...
.
Filming location
The village has been used as a film and television location, notably for the 1995
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
''. It also made brief appearances in the
.'' In the spring of 2012, it was a filming location for the fantasy adventure film ''
'' TV series, portraying a livestock market of the 1920s; Lord Grantham, his family and some of the staff appeared in this location. Not long after, the village was featured in two episodes of the
.
the film was released in September 2019.
channels.